Vice President JD Vance dismissed criticism over a controversial ad from Ohio GOP gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy’s campaign on Wednesday, slamming Republicans for appearing to care more about playing nice than winning elections.
“I have to admit that I'm a little bit disgusted when I see Republicans across the country who are whining more about that advertisement than they are about what the congressional Democrats and other Democrats want to do to the United States of America,” Vance said at a press conference ahead of a campaign event with Ramaswamy and Ohio Sen. John Husted.
Ramaswamy has faced sharp blowback across the political spectrum in recent days for the ad, which featured denunciations from the mother of Amy Acton, the Democrat with whom he is locked in a tight battle for control of the once-reliably Republican state. Acton was removed from her mother’s home after her stepfather was charged with raping her. She has long been estranged from her mother.
Ramaswamy acknowledged his campaign was behind the advertisement on Tuesday, a day after it first came to light.
The same day, Acton’s brother, Philip Stearns, said that the advertisementwas a “desperate, disgusting attack” and “reveals exactly who Vivek Ramaswamy is at his core.”
A series of high-profile Republicans have panned the ad, including Husted, who campaigned with Ramaswamy on Wednesday.
"I would not have run that ad," the Republican told The Associated Press in a statement his campaign forwarded to POLITICO.
Nikki Haley, who clashed with Ramaswamy when they both ran for president in 2024, said it was proof of “what we tried to tell everyone back then.”
“He’s a bad guy,” she said. “It’s a shame he continues to get away with it.”
Vance, who has been on the ballot in two elections in his political career, countered criticism of the Ramaswamy spot from within his own party by noting that he, too, has faced negative ads. Ramaswamy, he said, had been called a “murderer” throughout the heated governor race.
“Politics is a tough business,” he said. “And my message to my fellow elected Republicans is if you actually believe in the things you say you believe in, stop whining about an advertisement and go win the race in 13 days.”
The Acton and Ramaswamy campaigns did not immediately respond to requests for comment about Vance’s remarks.
This article originally appeared on Politico at https://www.politico.com/news/2026/10/21/jd-vance-ramaswamy-ohio-ad-republicans-01129287